Martin Griffiths

British diplomat (born 1951)

Martin Griffiths


United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 July 2021
Appointed by	António Guterres
Preceded by	Mark Lowcock
United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen
In office 16 February 2018 – 19 July 2021
Appointed by	António Guterres
Preceded by	Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed
Succeeded by	Hans Grundberg

Personal details
Born	(1951-07-03) 3 July 1951 (age 72) Colombo, Sri Lanka
Nationality	British
Children	2

Martin Griffiths (born 3 July 1951) is a British diplomat who currently serves as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations.^[1]

Personal life and education

Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka,^[2] Griffiths was educated at Leighton Park School and the University of Sussex. He holds a Master's degree in Southeast Asian Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and is a qualified barrister.^[3] He speaks French and English.^[4]

Career

Griffiths was a career diplomat at the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is an experienced conflict mediator.^[2] Griffiths previously served as the first executive director of the European Institute of Peace from 2016 to September 2018.^[5] In 1999, he helped launch the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva. He has also worked for Save The Children, Action Aid and UNICEF and has worked as an advisor to multiple United Nations Syria envoys.^[2]

From 16 February 2018 to 19 July 2021 Griffiths served as the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen at the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen.^[6] In February 2021 he visited Iran in an attempt to find a political solution to the Yemeni Civil War.^[7] Efforts to end the conflict were largely unsuccessful.^{[citation needed]}

On 12 May 2021, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced that he had appointed Griffiths as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), taking over from Mark Lowcock.^[8]

On February 15, 2024, Sky News reported that in Mr. Griffiths' view, “Hamas is not a terrorist group for us, as you know, it is a political movement."^[9] In March 2024, Griffiths stated he was appalled by the Al-Rashid humanitarian aid incident , saying, "Life is draining out of Gaza at terrifying speed."^[10]

On March 25, 2024, Martin Griffiths announced that he was leaving his post at the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs for health reasons.^[11]

References

^ "Mr. Martin Griffiths of the United Kingdom - Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator", United Nations, 12 May 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Who is Martin Griffiths, the British mediator bringing formidable experience to Yemen envoy role?". The National. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
^ "Mr. Martin Griffiths of the United Kingdom - Special Envoy for Yemen". United Nations Secretary-General. 16 February 2018.
^ "Mr. Martin Griffiths of the United Kingdom - Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator". 12 May 2021.
^ "Special Announcement: Michael Keating as new Executive Director | European Institute of Peace". www.eip.org. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
^ "Special Envoy". United Nations Secretary-General. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
^ "UN envoy for Yemen in Iran for talks on long-running conflict". Al Jazeera. 7 February 2021.
^ Wintour, Patrick (12 May 2021). "Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths to take on top UN humanitarian job". the Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
^ Greyman-Kennard, Danielle (15 February 2024). "'Hamas is not a terrorist group,' says UN Relief Chief Martin Griffiths". the Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
^ Goillandeau, Martin (29 February 2024). ""Life is draining out of Gaza at terrifying speed," UN relief chief warns". CNN. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024.
^ M.Lederer, Edith (25 March 2024). "UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths is stepping down for health reasons". AP News. Retrieved 26 March 2024.

Positions in intergovernmental organisations
Preceded by Mark Lowcock ()	Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator 2021–present	Succeeded by

Humanitarian aid

History

1850s, Creation of the Red Cross	Henry Dunant Battle of Solferino A Memory of Solferino Red Cross Movement Geneva Conventions International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission
Post WWII	History of the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention
21st-century reform attempts	World Humanitarian Summit Grand Bargain Localisation Humanitarian-Development Nexus Inter-Agency Standing Committee Humanitarian Cluster System

Humanitarian
organizations

UN agencies	UNHCR OCHA IOM WFP UNICEF WHO
Red Cross Movement	Seville Agreement ICRC The Federation (IFRC) National Societies Protective Emblems
International agencies	Action Against Hunger Catholic Relief Services CARE Danish Refugee Council International Medical Corps International Rescue Committee Islamic Relief Médecins du Monde Médecins Sans Frontières Mercy Corps Norwegian Refugee Council Oxfam Save the Children World Vision Koyamada International Foundation
Consortiums	NEAR Network CALP Global Refugee-Led Network
Local agencies	BRAC Adeso Network for Refugee Voices Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation